- Myanmar: Critics of army rule stage silent strike against upcoming election
Source: ABC News
“Opponents of military rule in Myanmar staged a joint protest on Wednesday calling on people to stay indoors to show they are boycotting elections scheduled for late this month. They defied harsh legal penalties for attempting to disrupt the polls. … Critics say the Dec. 28 polls will be neither free nor fair and are an effort by the military to legitimize its rule after seizing power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. The General Strike Coordination Body, the leading non-violent organization opposing army rule, had urged people to join a ‘silent strike’ on Wednesday. It called on the public to stay inside homes or workplaces from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on International Human Rights Day. The tactic has been used on special occasions since the military takeover. Images on social media showed uncrowded streets in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, and elsewhere.” (12/10/25)
- Sperm donor with cancer-causing gene fathered nearly 200 children across Europe, investigation finds
Source: CBS News
“Sperm from a donor who unknowingly carried a cancer-causing gene has been used to conceive nearly 200 babies across Europe, an investigation by 14 European public service broadcasters, including CBS News’ partner network BBC News, has revealed. Some children conceived using the sperm have already died from cancer, and the vast majority of those who inherited the gene will develop cancer in their lifetimes, geneticists said. The man carrying the gene passed screening checks before he became a donor at the European Sperm Bank when he was a student in 2005. His sperm has been used by women trying to conceive for 17 years across multiple countries.” (12/10/25)
- US regime threatens new ICC sanctions unless court pledges not to prosecute Trump
Source: Reuters
“President Donald Trump’s administration wants the International Criminal Court to amend its founding document to ensure it does not investigate the Republican president and his top officials, a Trump administration official said, threatening new U.S. sanctions on the court if it did not. If the court does not act on this U.S. demand and two others — dropping investigations of Israeli leaders over the Gaza war and formally ending an earlier probe of U.S. troops over their actions in Afghanistan — Washington may penalize more ICC officials and could sanction the court itself, the official said. … ICC judges issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli defense chief Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Ibrahim al-Masri last November for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Gaza conflict. In March 2020, prosecutors opened an investigation in Afghanistan that included possible crimes by U.S. troops.” (12/10/25)
- CA: Judge Says Trump Must End Los Angeles Occupation
Source: New York Times
“A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Wednesday to immediately end its current deployment of California National Guard troops in Los Angeles, ruling that the federal government had illegally kept them in the city long after intense street protests had ended in the summer. The ruling by Judge Charles R. Breyer of the Federal District Court in San Francisco applies to about 100 National Guard soldiers who remain in Los Angeles six months after protests erupted over immigration raids. Judge Breyer directed the federal government to return control of the troops to Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, but he stayed his order until Monday. The Trump administration is expected to appeal.” (12/10/25)
- Norway: Machado’s daughter accepts Nobel Peace Prize in Venezuelan opposition leader’s absence
Source: WRAL News
“Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado’s daughter accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on her mother’s behalf Wednesday, hours after officials said Machado would miss the ceremony. Machado has been in hiding and has not been seen in public since Jan. 9, when she was briefly detained after joining supporters in a protest in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital. … Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel committee, told the award ceremony that ‘María Corina Machado has done everything in her power to be able to attend the ceremony here today — a journey in a situation of extreme danger.’ ‘Although she will not be able to reach this ceremony and today’s events, we are profoundly happy to confirm that she is safe, and that she will be with us here in Oslo,’ he said to applause.” (12/10/25)
- US regime plans to start snooping into all tourists’ social media
Source: Sky News [UK]
“According to a notice published in America’s federal register on Tuesday, foreign tourists would need to provide their social media from the last five years. It will be ‘mandatory’ to hand over the information, and other details – including email addresses and telephone numbers used in the last five years, as well as the names, addresses, numbers, and birthdays of family members – will also be required. … There have been several reports of travellers already having been denied entry into the US over social media posts and messages found on their personal devices after President Donald Trump took office in January.” (12/10/25)
https://news.sky.com/story/us-plans-to-start-checking-all-tourists-social-media-13481642
- SC: Abandoned nuclear plants could be revived as company offers $2.7 billion
Source: SFGate
“South Carolina’s stalled nuclear power project could finally finish construction as a private company has offered to pay $2.7 billion to the state-owned utility and a small share of the power if they can reach an agreement to get the two reactors up and running. The half-built reactors ended up so far behind schedule that the project was abandoned in 2017. However, the potential deal is a long way from complete. There will be up to two years of negotiations between utility Santee Cooper and Brookfield Asset Management on the thousands and thousands of details. The deal would also let Brookfield keep at least 75% of the power generated by the new plant that they could mostly sell to whom they want, such as energy-gobbling data centers. The exact amount of the rest that Santee Cooper receives would be determined on how much the private company has to spend to get the reactors running.” (12/09/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/south-carolina-s-abandoned-nuclear-plants-could-21232791.php
- Guinea-Bissau: Junta Adopts Charter Barring Leaders From Elections
Source: US News & World Report
“Guinea-Bissau’s military junta adopted a 12-month transitional charter that bars the interim president and prime minister from running in the next elections, two weeks after officers staged a coup that suspended the constitution. The 29-article charter, published on Tuesday, requires presidential and legislative elections to be held at the end of the one-year transitional period, with the polling date to be set by the transitional president. Army officers in Guinea-Bissau, branding themselves the Military High Command, toppled President Umaro Sissoco Embalo on November 26 and installed Major-General Horta Inta-a as interim president the following day. … The Military High Command will control legal and institutional reforms during the transition, including drafting revisions to the suspended constitution, setting up a new Constitutional Court, changing regulations for political parties and overseeing the appointment of new electoral officials, according to the charter.” (12/10/25)
- Australia: Regime to begin enforcing social media law banning children under 16 from major platforms
Source: Fox News
“Australia’s landmark new social media age law is set to go into effect, barring anyone under 16 from holding an account as the government moves to enforce one of the world’s strictest online safety measures. The Australian government’s Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act, passed in November 2024, will start being enforced on Wednesday. ‘From December 10, if you’re under 16, you’re no longer allowed to have a social media account,’ said Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in a video statement that was played in classrooms ahead of the social media restrictions, according to 9 News Australia. ‘You’ll know better than anyone what it’s like growing up with algorithms, endless feeds and the pressure that can come with that.’ The platforms that will be banned for youth in Australia are Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, Twitch, X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube.” (12/10/25)
- FL: Regime sues medical associations for expressing medical opinions
Source: United Press International
“Florida is suing three major medical associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, accusing them of pushing misinformation about gender-affirming care to drive demand for their members’ services and generate profit from membership sales. The lawsuit was announced Tuesday by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier in a video statement, naming the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, the Endocrine Society and AAP as defendants. ‘We believe these organizations fail to disclose the risks, limits and evidence when promoting so-called gender-affirming care for children,’ he said. … All three defendants have previously come out against legislation seeking to interfere in the healthcare of children.” (12/10/25)
- Tax Prosecutions Drop to Lowest Level in Decades as Trump Guts Extortion Enforcement Efforts
Source: Common Dreams
“President Donald Trump’s administration has drastically slashed resources for enforcing tax laws, and the result has been a massive plunge in tax-related prosecutions. A Tuesday report from Reuters found that federal tax prosecutions in 2025 fell to ‘their lowest level in decades this year,’ falling by 27% over the last year. The report noted that the Trump administration has made ‘deep cuts to the Internal Revenue Service’s criminal investigative unit,’ and has also reassigned some agents who worked in the unit to focus more on immigration cases. The Trump administration has even assigned more than 20 IRS agents in the agency’s DC office to conduct patrols alongside city police officers as part of the president’s purported plan to reduce crime in the capital city, Reuters reported.” [editor’s note: They say it like it’s a bad thing! – TLK] (12/10/25)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-irs-tax-prosecutions
- Brazil: Lawmakers approve bill to slash Bolsonaro’s prison term
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“Brazil’s lower house of Congress approved a bill early Wednesday that could drastically reduce the sentence of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who has been serving 27 years in jail for staging a coup. If ratified by the Senate, the 70-year-old far-right leader, who has been behind bars since late November, could see his sentence cut to just over two years. Chaotic scenes erupted in Congress Tuesday as a lawmaker disrupted the lower house efforts to vote. Bolsonaro’s defense team meanwhile has asked the Supreme Court to authorise his release for a surgical procedure due to his deteriorating health, according to documents obtained by AFP.” (12/10/25)
https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20251210-brazil-congress-bolsonaro-jail
- Your Fascist Immigration Policies
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan“Though I’m painfully aware of the ubiquity of false accusations of fascism, one glaring expression of fascism hides in plain sight all over the world: anti-immigration policies. The fascist nature of U.S. anti-immigration policies has been especially blatant this year. The Department of Homeland Security claims to have deported over 400,000 people. The vast majority of them are accused of no crime against person or property. Instead, they are being violently detained and expelled simply for breathing the air of our country without government permission — permission that is almost impossible to obtain. Even migrants who managed to get this elusive permission have had it revoked. Not because of anything they did, but simply because the government didn’t want them to keep breathing our air.” (12/10/25)
- We need to quarantine rabid government
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal“It has always bothered me how much of the news is concerned with what government is doing. In a way, I understand. When there’s a rabid dog at your door, you need to know about it. Unfortunately, talking about it doesn’t solve the problem. The rabid dog is still there, threatening us. F. William ‘Bill’ Schmidt, a man of impressive accomplishments whom I only learned about after his recent death at the age of 92, wrote: ‘Why is Government always the principal subject of public discussion? Because the existence of Government violates the Natural Rights of everyone; and everyone is struggling to understand this malevolent institution which inevitably creates conflicts and chaos.’ He was right.” (12/10/25)
- The Pandemic Revealed the Most Cowardly Society of All Time
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Filipe Rafaeli“‘It’s not time to admit that the vaccines don’t stop Covid transmission? The data is clear,’ [Alex] Berenson posted on his Twitter in August 2021. His statement was simply true. … The next day, Twitter permanently banned him. The reason given: violation of rules for spreading ‘false information about Covid-19.’ Soon afterward, it was proven that the White House had pressured social media platforms to censor numerous journalists, scientists, and whistleblowers who pointed out that the vaccine propaganda was misleading. … In the United States, freedom of speech is so deeply rooted in society that, in the name of that principle, they tolerate people marching down the street carrying Nazi flags. In other words, in the US you can walk around with one of those flags in public, but you cannot point out that there is misleading advertising about a pharmaceutical product. That crosses the line.” (12/10/25)
https://brownstone.org/articles/the-pandemic-revealed-the-most-cowardly-society-of-all-time/
- What College Taught Gen-Z Is Getting Them Fired
Source: The Daily Economy
by Laura Williams“College sought to protect students from discomfort. The economy demands they perform under pressure. The resulting collision is reshaping early-career outcomes.” (12/10/25)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/what-college-taught-gen-z-is-getting-them-fired/
- A stark lesson about the president’s war powers
Source: Washington Post
by George F Will“Do not expect the Constitution’s language and structure to impede what decades of presidential practices have made normal: presidents doing what they choose regarding warmaking. The current president has pushed prerogative to absurdity (e.g., defining war as something waged by suspected drug smugglers). In domestic affairs (e.g., a bogus ’emergency’ justifying tariffs; an executive order amending the 14th Amendment regarding birthright citizenship), the Constitution probably soon will restrain him. Regarding warmaking, however, the Constitution, Congress and norms are cobwebs inadequate for lassoing a presidential locomotive. So, voters are learning the Constitution’s limited ability to mitigate the consequences of their choices. Neither the language of the law (constitutional or other), nor what are now shadows of norms, can substitute for what is indispensable: an occupant of the presidency whose constitutional conscience causes him or her to distinguish the proper from the merely possible.” (12/10/25)
- The new mercantilism
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen Pirie“At its core, mercantilism emphasizes using tariffs and trade restrictions to boost national exports, limit imports, and accumulate wealth or power, rather than relying on free-market trade flows to optimize global welfare. The current trade strategy of President Trump and his administration largely echoes those principles, with aggressive and broad tariffs on imports, plus reciprocal tariffs meant to penalize trade partners. Some commentators call this a new mercantilism,adapted for 21st-century global trade conflicts. It is characterized by combining tariffs, trade restrictions, and industrial policy aimed at re-shoring manufacturing and reducing dependency on rival powers. … in terms of motivation and tools, the US seems to be embracing a mercantilist trade-power strategy again, even if it doesn’t use the same rhetoric as 18th-century mercantilist states.” (12/10/25)
- The missing half of healthcare choice
Source: Niskanen Center
by Katherine Hall“In their current push for patient choice, Republicans in Congress and the administration are focused primarily on the demand side by adjusting the offerings available in the Affordable Care Act marketplace and pursuing aggressive price transparency requirements for hospitals and insurers. Together, these reform efforts aim to make patients more price-sensitive shoppers with greater direct control over their healthcare spending. This year, Republicans greatly expanded the reach of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) – tools that individuals can use to pay directly for health expenses when paired with cheaper, higher-deductible insurance plans. … these reforms often rely on a competitively responsive supply side. In reality, a worsening doctor shortage and the erosion of independent, lower-cost providers make clear that the supply side is unlikely to meet this moment for patients without similar reforms.” (12/10/25)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/the-missing-half-of-healthcare-choice
- 14th Amendment is plain on citizenry
Source: Orange County Register
by the editorial board“As a general rule, babies born in the United States of America are citizens of the United States of America. There isn’t any question about that. It’s in the Constitution, 14th Amendment: ‘All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.’ … If the president, as with any other citizen, thinks there’s a problem with some part of the Constitution, he’s welcome to lead the charge to repeal it, and with his bully pulpit he would have a better chance than most in his quest. But instead of pursuing normal legal channels, Trump on his first day back in office issued an executive order …”
https://www.ocregister.com/2025/12/10/14th-amendment-is-plain-on-citizenry/
- Creating “good rules” for AI
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff“Civilians around the world daily and easily engage with artificial intelligence, communicating with chatbot ‘therapists’ and ‘friends’ or creating realistic videos with entirely machine-generated content. Governments, meanwhile, are racing to keep up with the implications of AI – positive and otherwise – for national security and economic competitiveness as well as for citizen freedoms, privacy, and safety. The challenge centers on whether and how much to regulate this rapidly advancing and lucrative sector. And how to do so without eroding the democratic, free-market values of individual and entrepreneurial autonomy. Australia is now the first country to ban social media use for children under age 16. In July, the United Kingdom enacted age verification for accessing pornographic sites. And last year, the European Union passed an AI Act to ‘foster responsible’ development, while addressing ‘potential risks to citizens’ health, safety, and fundamental rights.'” (12/09/25)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2025/1209/Creating-good-rules-for-AI
- Trump’s presidency is crumbling before our eyes
Source: The Hill
by Max Burns“It doesn’t take a political genius to recognize that things are in free fall over at the White House. Less than a year after staffing his administration with a cadre of bumbling goons valued only for their slavish devotion to his ego, President Trump now finds himself leading a government wholly incapable of governing. Forgive my lack of surprise. … Trump’s crumbling administration is living proof that the best way to convince voters to elect Democrats is to let Republicans run things for a year.” (12/10/25)
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5640504-trump-white-house-dysfunction/
- New York Times Wants The US Military Built Up For War With China
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone“Just as the United States hits its first official trillion-dollar annual military budget, the New York Times editorial board has published an article which argues that the US is going to need to increase military funding to prepare for a major war with China. The article is titled ‘Overmatched: Why the U.S. Military Must Reinvent Itself,’ and to be clear it is an editorial, not an op-ed, meaning it represents the position of the newspaper itself rather than solely that of the authors. This will come as no surprise to anyone who knows that The New York Times has supported every American war throughout its entire history, because The New York Times is a war propaganda firm disguised as a news outlet. But it is surprising how brazen they are about it in this particular case.” (12/10/25)
- Trump Says That You Are the Problem
Source: Paul Krugman
by Paul Krugman“Last night Donald Trump gave an important speech on the economy in Pennsylvania …. The event was initially touted as the start of an ‘affordability tour,’ the first of a series of speeches intended to reverse Trump’s cratering approval on his handling of inflation and the economy. A number of news analyses suggested that he would use the occasion to blame Democrats for the economy’s troubles. That was never going to happen. … to blame Democrats for the economy’s problems he would have to admit that the Trump economy has problems. … Trump and his minions seem to have come around to admitting that Americans are, in fact, unhappy with the state of the economy. But if the economy is A+++++, why don’t people see it? The problem can’t possibly lie with him — so it must lie with you.” (12/10/25)
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/trump-says-that-you-are-the-problem
- Stop Trump’s Murder Spree, Could Also Stop War With Venezuela
Source: Common Dreams
by Michelle Ellner“The first US missiles that struck the boats in the Caribbean in early September 2025 were described by Washington as a ‘counter-narcotics operation,’ a sterile phrase meant to dull the violence of incinerating human beings in an instant. Then came the second strike, this time on survivors already struggling to stay afloat. Once the details emerged, however, the official story began to fall apart. Local fishermen contradicted US claims. Relatives of those killed have said the men were not cartel operatives at all, but fishermen, divers, and small-scale couriers. … Maritime workers noted what everyone in the region already knows: the route near Venezuela’s waters is not a fentanyl corridor into the United States.” (12/10/25)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/boat-strikes-venezuela-war
- Militarism Without Strategy: How the 2025 National Security Document Institutionalizes Perpetual Conflict
Source: Antiwar.com
by Peter Rodgers“On December 4, 2025, the Trump administration released a document claiming to herald a ‘Golden Age of Peace;’ yet a careful reading reveals an entirely different picture: a roadmap for institutionalizing chronic militarism and perpetuating conflict in a new form. The new U.S. National Security Strategy portrays Trump as the ‘Peace President’ who has allegedly ‘chieved peace in eight global conflicts,’ yet the same document simultaneously authorizes the use of ‘lethal force’ in other countries, the expansion of military deployments at borders, and the weaponization of economic tools. This apparent contradiction is not accidental; it is part of a structural logic that links claims of non-interventionism with the reality of expanding military dominance.” (12/10/25)
- Madeira: Europe’s Forgotten Miracle
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Cláudia Ascensão Nunes“In 1978, a tiny, dirt-poor Atlantic island of 250,000 souls decided to do the one thing Brussels now treats as heresy … It cut its corporate tax rate to the bone and built Europe’s last genuine special economic zone. And now, 47 years and countless European Union investigations later, that same island shows the opposite of decline: its GDP has quadrupled since 1995; it has narrowed the gap with the European average by more than 20 percentage points; unemployment in recent years has fallen below mainland levels; and its 5% corporate tax regime has been legally renewed until 2033. No oil. No tech miracle. No massive subsidies. Just lower taxes and the freedom to keep the money you earn. This is the story Europe’s central planners don’t want you to hear.” (12/10/25)
- The Gratitude Prescription: Lessons from Steve Jobs and Everyday Life
Source: Mindset Shifts
by Barry Brownstein“Is it just the long lines that make trips to the post office or DMV so unpleasant? The reality goes deeper. In many states, a significant number of government employees act as though they’re doing you a favor by helping you. These workers seem to find no meaning in their work, and they stubbornly refuse to allow any joy into their workday. Passion for our work develops from our commitment to being good at our job. Those who would rather be idle because they feel no passion are deluded about cause and effect. In contrast to experiences at government offices, market transactions are shaped by mutual benefit — each participant values what they receive more than what they give. This interdependence naturally fosters a sense of gratitude.” (12/10/25)
https://mindsetshifts.substack.com/p/the-gratitude-prescription-lessons
- How misreading Somali poverty led Minnesota into its largest welfare scandal
Source: Fox News
by Howard Husock“The billion-dollar pandemic-era social service billing fraud perpetuated mainly by Somali immigrants in Minneapolis is shocking in its scale. That Minnesota public officials would have turned a blind eye to one of the largest state welfare scandals in American history, for fear of being viewed as racist, should surprise no one. For years, the state has wrongly convinced itself that its Black residents suffer from a deeply racist past. Progressives made a key error, confusing the situation of new immigrants who happen to be Black Africans with those who are the descendants of American slaves. But they were sure they had to correct the past with dramatic policy changes. This under-appreciated story began with what seemed to be an alarming 2019 investigation by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that labeled Minnesota ‘one of the most racially inequitable states’ — a conclusion based on a poverty rate four times higher for Blacks than Whites.” (12/10/25)
- From Doxxing to Dot.Gov: the White House Has Set Up a Taxpayer Funded Enemies List
Source: CounterPunch
by Laura Flanders“Doxing, swatting, bogus FBI calls, stalkers live-streaming outside their homes — it used to be marginal maniacs who saw journalists as targets to be neutralized. Now it’s the President. A government that pardons violent insurrectionists, guts research on far‑right terror, and redirects agents from tracking neo‑Nazis to hunting immigrants is turning its full weight on the people who dare to report any of it.” (12/10/25)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/12/10/from-doxxing-to-dot-gov/
- In new peace, US firms will help Israel spy on and target Gazans
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Sophia Goodfriend“Since mid-October, some 200 U.S. military personnel have been working out of a sprawling warehouse in southern Israel, around 20 kilometers from the northern tip of the Gaza Strip. The Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) was ostensibly set up to facilitate the implementation of President Donald Trump’s 20-point ‘peace plan’ — whose stated aims are to ‘disarm Hamas,’ ‘rebuild Gaza,’ and lay the groundwork for ‘Palestinian self-determination and statehood’ — which last week received the endorsement of the UN Security Council. Yet while no Palestinian bodies have been involved in the conversations surrounding Gaza’s future, at least two private U.S. surveillance firms have found their way into the White House’s post-war designs for the Strip.” (12/10/25)
- It’s Time to End Affirmative Action for Men
Source: The Dispatch
by Yascha Mounk“Community colleges, historically black institutions, and big public schools are now heavily female. So, increasingly, are the country’s most selective private universities. Women make up the majority of incoming students at every Ivy League school except Dartmouth. If they were to admit applicants without considering their sex, the best schools in the country would end up with incoming classes that have an even greater predominance of women than they already do. So, largely unnoticed by the public, they have started to embrace a solution to this supposed problem that is simple, effective, and manifestly unjust: affirmative action for men.” (12/10/25)
https://thedispatch.com/article/university-college-gender-discrimination-men-admissions/
- Why Is Warner Bros. for Sale at All?
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen“The Golden Globe nominations came out on Monday, and two films dominated: One Battle After Another with nine nominations and Sinners with seven. On the television side, The White Lotus led with six nominations. These productions have something in common: They are all products of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), which has also dominated the box office this year. A record seven straight Warner Bros. releases debuted with more than $40 million in receipts in their opening week this year, the most consistent run of success in movie history. This all begs the question: Why did a critical darling and commercial juggernaut publicly auction itself off, and why is it now caught in a bidding war between Netflix, with which Warner Bros. agreed to a merger last week, and Paramount, which made a hostile takeover bid on Monday?” (12/10/25)
https://prospect.org/2025/12/10/why-is-warner-bros-for-sale-at-all/
- Gilded Glory
Source: Law & Liberty
by Brian Domitrovic“The American economy in the quarter century after 1865 remains without exaggeration the greatest example of material development and the expansion of mass prosperity in world history. We cannot compare ourselves favorably to the best economy that ever was, namely the Gilded Age (the term comes from a Mark Twain book of 1873), but we can and should aspire to emulate the best. If we are not in a new Gilded Age today — we are not, because we are not growing enough — it would be commendable if we aspired to be. Perhaps the HBO series (which takes place in the 1880s) is striking a chord because we were once that good, and we know we can be again.” (12/10/25)
- Trump’s Clemency Machine Deserves More Right-Wing Scrutiny
Source: The American Conservative
by Harrison Berger“Just a year ago, a series of pardons signed by President Joe Biden, apparently executed through the ‘autopen’ and seemingly without his direct involvement, rightly became the subject of intense scrutiny from conservative media. Right-wing stars Megyn Kelly and Steve Bannon among others bashed the autopen pardon of a convicted killer from Connecticut, Adrian Peeler, even proposing legal theories for how Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Justice Department might be able to undo Biden era pardons. Yet one month ago, Trump unwittingly mimicked Biden’s inattentiveness when, after pardoning Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, Trump told CBS’s 60 Minutes that he did not even know who the crypto exchange founder was. … while conservatives had no trouble denouncing Biden’s autopen pardons, the same standard of scrutiny is overdue for the clemency system now operating inside this administration.” (12/10/25)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/trumps-clemency-machine-deserves-more-right-wing-scrutiny/
- Trump’s Word Games Can’t Conceal the Murderous Reality of His Anti-Drug Strategy
Source: Reason
by Jacob Sullum“I have a riddle for you. If we call a drug smuggler a combatant, how many combatants died when SEAL Team 6 killed 11 men on a cocaine boat near Venezuela on September 2? Zero, because calling a drug smuggler a combatant does not make him a combatant. That reality goes to the heart of the morally and legally bankrupt justification for President Donald Trump’s bloodthirsty anti-drug campaign in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific, which began on September 2 and so far has killed 87 people in 22 attacks. The September 2 operation is newly controversial because it included a follow-up missile strike that blew apart two defenseless survivors of the initial attack as they clung to the smoldering wreckage. But all these attacks entail the use of deadly force in circumstances that do not justify it.” (12/10/25)
- Tough Medicine for Democrats: “Too Liberal” and “Out of Touch”
Source: Washington Monthly
by Anne Kim“Less than a year into his second term, President Donald Trump is already hobbling toward lame duck status. His approval rating has plummeted to 36 percent, according to Gallup’s latest survey, including just a 25 percent thumbs-up among independents. He’s squandered his gains with Latino voters, with nearly 80 percent now telling Pew that his policies are more harmful than helpful. Democrats, meanwhile, are enjoying an uptick in their electoral fortunes. Democratic gubernatorial candidates Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill cruised to victory in Virginia and New Jersey, while generic Congressional ballots have begun to show commanding leads for Democrats hopeful of capturing the House. But don’t mistake Trump’s unpopularity with newfound affection for Democrats, warns strategist Simon Bazelon, a Research Fellow at the Democratically aligned organization Welcome. Democrats have increasingly shifted leftward in recent years, Bazelon argues, and are perceived as too liberal and out of touch.” (12/10/25)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2025/12/10/tough-medicine-for-democrats-too-liberal-and-out-of-touch/
- “Good citizen” rules turn condos and co-ops into no-speech zones
Source: Expression
by Samuel J Abrams“A small but consequential shift is taking place in co-ops and condos, and it deserves far more scrutiny than it’s getting. Habitat Magazine recently reported that more buildings are adopting ‘good citizen rules’ that ban ‘any verbal or physical conduct that is threatening, harassing, or otherwise offensive to anyone else.’a The language is framed as common sense. Who could oppose civility, respect, and peaceful use and enjoyment? But rules built around offense, rather than conduct, carry real risks. They subordinate clear standards to individual feelings and give boards broad authority to police speech according to subjective judgments. That is a recipe for abuse of power, not harmony.” (12/09/25)
https://expression.fire.org/p/good-citizen-rules-turn-condos-and
- Gracearchy with Jim Babka, episode 146
Source: Gracearchy with Jim Babka
“The Self-Hating Tea Party vs Thomas Massie.” (12/10/25)
- So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, 12/10/25
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
“FIRE answers your questions.” (12/10/25)
https://www.thefire.org/news/podcasts/so-speak-free-speech-podcast/fire-answers-your-questions
- Free Parking Isn’t Free. Black Market Entrepreneurs in Guatemala Have a Solution.
Source: Reason
by Katarina Hall“A functional market without a master plan.” (12/10/25)
- The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 12/10/25
Source: The New Republic
“Trump Erupts in Fury as GOPers Humiliatingly Defy His Plot to Rig 2026.” (12/10/25)
https://newrepublic.com/article/204217/trump-erupts-fury-gopers-humiliatingly-defy-plot-rig-2026
- Undethrow Podcast, 12/10/25
Source: Underthrow
“Open Letter To Gen Z Men.” (12/10/25)
- Political Theater, 12/10/25
Source: Roll Call
“Buy the ‘Shadow Ticket,’ take the ride.” (12/10/25)
https://chrt.fm/track/D3F8DG/traffic.megaphone.fm/FISCAL6616681418.mp3
- Reasonably Optimistic, episode 1
Source: Washington Post
“Science fiction writer Neal Stephenson predicted the metaverse, wearable tech and artificial intelligence long before those technologies arrived. What does he think of it all now? Host Megan McArdle talks to Stephenson about the future of AI, education and social media — and how his fiction became a window into the culture of Silicon Valley.” (12/10/25)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/impromptu/the-scifi-writer-who-predicted-the-future/
- Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 12/10/25
Source: Antiwar.com
“US Flies Fighter Jets Into Gulf of Venezuela, Zelensky Rules Out Ceding Territory, and More.” (12/10/25)
- Nonzero, 12/09/25
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“Using AI to Fight Cancer | Robert Wright & Nathan Labenz.” (12/09/25)